With apologies to Andrew Strauss, who has scored a run or two, 2009 was very much Graeme Swann's year. He has run wild, inviting smiles and lightening burdens, bringing the distinct impression that even in professional sport it is possible to be hugely successful while out for a laugh at the same time.

The statistics are magical enough since he made his Test debut in Chennai just over a year ago – 62 wickets in 14 Tests at an average under 30 – but it is the sheer happiness of it all that has been so delightful. Swann might have earned the right to be regarded as a serious Test cricketer but he remains only one wisecrack away from comedy central.

He has poked fun at opponents, been refreshingly candid in media interviews and indulged in endless dressing-room conversations in which, by his own estimate, he has done 90% of the talking. Not since Darren Gough has England had such an effervescent character, a player so naturally attuned to the cricketing stage, although whereas Gough's speciality was a guileless bravado, England's off-spinner deals more in impudence, a Swann with a brass neck.

David Capel, a former England all-rounder, has known Swann since childhood, first playing cricket in Northamptonshire with his father. Capel was Northants' 2nd XI coach when Swann left for Nottinghamshire in 2005, his enthusiasm drained by the earnest coaching regime of the South African Kepler Wessels.

Wessels, a former amateur boxer, yearned to don the gloves every time Swann opened his mouth; Capel's praise comes more easily. "Graeme was the same personality as a boy, very bright, a free spirit. He has always had effervescence. He is the same sort of guy, just at a different stage of his life, where he has earned the right to be the centre of attention.

"There still might be occasions in the dressing room when Swanny with some downtime is a bit hard to take. But England did well to keep tabs on him. It's well documented that he has pushed the patience of people around the England set-up like Phil Neale and Rod Marsh. He has done a few silly things. It is good to see that he has made it."

Swann is the sole survivor of England's 1999-2000 tour of South Africa. He played in a single one-day international on that trip and would not play international cricket again for nearly nine years, yet he ended the decade as a vital member of England's attack and was named man of the match in each of the first two Tests. Yesterday South Africa's coach, Mickey Arthur, described him as "probably on a par with Daniel Vettori as the best finger spinner in world cricket at the moment".

But Swann's rise has not been without a drawback or two. Just ask one of the boys in the band. He is lead singer for the Nottingham-based rock group Dr Comfort and the Lurid Revelations, and his perpetual absence has done nothing for live music within half a mile of Trent Bridge.

Andy Afford, a predecessor as a Nottinghamshire finger spinner, plays rhythm guitar. "We have not played since April," he says. "Swanny is our bit of class but he is never available. We will have to become like George Michael and Aretha Franklin, playing together even though we are on different continents. There have been times when we could have played a gig close to a cricket match but he appreciates what he has got and he is going to hang on to it. He can sell a song – he has a good rock voice – but he is a reluctant rehearser. He thinks everything is brilliant and he just goes out with abandon."

Such instant confidence contributes to his uncanny knack of taking wickets in his first over of a spell, 17 times now in Tests. "He goes for it from the start," Afford says. "Most spinners are just happy to get a few on the dance floor."

Technology has improved the lot of the finger spinner by encouraging umpires to give front-foot lbw decisions. His proportion of wickets gained by lbw decisions runs at a remarkable 42%. Decisions that would once have caused uproar have become the fashion.

Afford was recently appointed by Nottinghamshire as a part-time bowling coach, which places Swann under his jurisdiction. "A lot of men have tried and a lot of men have died," he jokes. "He sent me a text from Durban the other day, as a bit of a laugh, asking me how his front arm looked. I told him it looked very tired.

"He likes the limelight but is also very professional and very aware tactically. He has become one of the blokes to talk to on the field. He has accepted he doesn't always have to try to bowl a miracle ball, and also knows where to stand fielders.

"It is difficult for Strauss in the first innings with only three seamers and Swanny. It often doesn't feel quite right that he is on, but he has become such a versatile, experienced bowler that he stays on. He deals with individual batsmen in individual situations. He has men around the bat, leaves gaps to get batsmen playing where he wants and puts a lot of pressure on himself to be accurate.

"He is really enjoying it because it has come late in his career, and it's great to see. There is a lot more to him than you think. He is not just Swanny TM, even if he does still like a personalised number plate."